Old Fadama boys reveal how tramadol makes them high and stronger in bed but kills them later

- Some young men in old Fadama have recounted the adverse effects of tramadol on their lives

- They have also called on government to ban its importation so they can stop abusing it

Despite having seen a number of his friends die from seizures and the likes after taking as many as four sachets of Tramadol, Kojo S.K, a young man who resides at Old Fadama will take the Tramadol drug on a day he has a ‘match’ with his girlfriend.

Kojo would also take it occasionally when he has some cash to spare and wants to hang out with friends

Kojo says he can go as many as three to four hours non-stop on a ‘match day’ in bed with his girlfriend as a result of the energy the drug provides.

“I don’t just take the drug, I take it to boost my sexual escapades, I’m able to go three to four hours non-stop when I take the drug, it gives me energy,” Kojo said.

“I’m 25 years old, I take it occasionally when I’m going to meet my girlfriend and or hang out with friends for fun…….I’ve seen a lot of my friends die as a result of this drug, some take as many as four sachets. Many of them have seizures and fall into the Korle Lagoon.”

“I don’t often take tramadol, but when I do I feel good and I sleep very well after my rounds” he noted.

Old Fadama boys reveal how tramadol makes them high and stronger in bed

Kojo is one of the several boys in Ghana, particularly, old Fadama, who are abusing ‘Tramol’, as they choose to refer to it. They say even though the publicity of the effects of the drug scares them, it is not enough to deter them from using it.

Tramadol, the drug which has kept the FDA and health experts on their toes for over a period now considering the devastating effects it is having on Ghanaians is now a ‘headache’ for young men living at Old Fadama in Accra as they fight their way through to get over their addiction to the drug.

But Kojo’s story is just one of the many other stories of ‘hood boys’ in the area. ‘Horror’ as he identifies himself, on his part takes tramadol as a hustler to work through the day without feeling tired.

“I feel the drug Tramol, it gives me energy and without it, I’m unable to fight back when I’m bullied in the course of my job,” the 23-year-old hustler told GH One’s Nana Aba Anamoah on ‘State of Affairs’.

“Two doses of the 250mg tabs will get me through a day, carting goods for people. I feel down when I don’t take it but I’m re-energised when I take it. I ended up on the floor one time after taking it. I’ve read about it and I know I have to stop taking it but when I stop for about 5 days, I feel sick and cold, I only become all sorts of happy again after I take it,” he continued.

The source of my drugs he said, are “drug stores and the Abochi guys who sell. He also said the pharmacists will sell it for you just like they will sell paracetamol to you.

Tramadol

DJ Bro Joe is able to walk around 2 days without blinking an eye after taking the drug for his job (Disk Jockyeing).

“I was a shy person and I needed to take the drugs for boldness and energy to move the crowd so a friend introduced me to it but I realized that after taking the drug in the evening, I’m unable to sleep, sometimes for two whole days and it wasn’t helping me so I stopped,” DJ Bro said.

Worried about the rate at which lives are being lost because of the drug, these boys believe that the only better way of solving the problem now is for government to ban the drug. They think that they will not be forced to buy them if the drugs are non-existent.

“Those bringing in the drugs, why are they not being prevented? And why is it accessible just anybody? Because it is being allowed, some people think it is normal to take just because you won’t see the immediate effect of the drug,” S.K. asked.

“I would wish that the sale of the drug is banned on the market so we don’t get access then only can we learn to control ourselves and stop taking it altogether. Once it’s available, its really hard to stop taking,” Horror stated.

The introduction of Tramadol, a pain relief drug which according to medical experts, functions like heroin and can cause psychotic problems as well as damage vital organs in the human body if abused in the system has raised so many concerns as alarming figures of abuse and loss of lives have been recorded as a result of the drug.

Recent surveys have shown that the drug is being abused by some youth, as well as some market women, drivers and in some cases students.

Findings have shown that Tramadol abuse has killed more people than heroin and cocaine.

The Food and Drugs Authority and the health Ministry are making efforts to deal with the situation. Joint efforts with security agencies are also being made to arrest and bring to book persons dealing in the sale of Tramadol in various parts of the country.

The volume approved by the FDA to be sold is 50mg and 100mg, much as 250mg however is being sold on the markets.

--Part of the text of this story is from Ghanaweb.com.

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